Into the black: Marlboro brand architecture, packaging and marketing communication of relative harm

Published Online First 21 April 2017 In 2008, Philip Morris International (PMI) launched a new global brand architecture for Marlboro, which involved establishing three Marlboro brand families known as Red (centred on flavour), Gold (based on contemporary style with contrasting diameters and taste profiles) and Fresh (being mentholated and dubbed as ‘refreshing taste sensations’). The new brand architecture includes Marlboro brand variants being offered in black-coloured cigarette packages. For example, as part of the Marlboro Fresh product line, Marlboro Black Menthol was launched in Japan during 2008, and soon thereafter offered in several additional markets, including Indonesia and the Philippines. According to PMI’s 2008 annual report, Marlboro Black Menthol was launched ‘to deliver a cigarette with a bold, longlasting, high-cooling sensation in a striking black pack. The brand’s boldness is represented by a strong black stallion in motion, the main element of the communication campaign’ (figure 1). Additional Marlboro offerings from the Fresh pillar include Ice Blast and W-Burst (also launched in Japan), Blue Ice (launched in Brazil), as well as Kretek Mint and Black Freeze (launched in Mexico, where the company possesses over 80% of the menthol segment). By 2011, PMI had developed over 220 new or redesigned brand variants for Marlboro, with Marlboro Fresh variants available in more than 90 markets. 3–5 The use of brand extensions or variants has facilitated tobacco companies such as PMI to ably position and create the perception that some cigarettes are healthier versions of others. According to PMI’s website, the primary role of brand variants is to ‘offer products with differing yields of tar and nicotine, as measured by standardized test methods. Where permitted, we use terms such as ‘low-tar,’ ‘light,’ ‘ultra-light,’ ‘medium’ and ‘mild’ to facilitate consumers’ ability to distinguish among these different product offerings.’ Where not permitted to use such product descriptors, a colour-coding system has been used to ensure that variants remain associated with descriptors (eg, ‘Light’, ‘mild’, ‘low tar’) previously deemed misleading and deceptive, and distinctions can still be made among variants on the basis of their sequential tar yields. For the Marlboro brand family historically, red has signified the parent brand and is commonly used for regular cigarettes, whereas blue, gold and silver are commonly understood to signal sequentially ‘lighter’ variants. Black was likely selected by PMI as a package colour for Marlboro to communicate the brand’s premium or market leadership status. Black packaging is associated with higher priced products, prestige and elegance. Black is commonly used by those in creative design to convey sophistication (eg, tuxedos and black clothing as a fashion statement), importance and respect (eg, limousines and official cars that transport dignitaries are commonly black) and appearing authoritative. 13 Specific to cigarette packaging, internal documentation from Philip Morris indicates that shiny or textured black backgrounds communicate ‘classy, contemporary, distinguished, stylish, rich, aspirational (important, competent, successful)’ attributes to consumers. Although the meaning of colours can vary cross-culturally, ‘expensive’, ‘powerful’ and ‘authority’ are meanings associated with black that transcend domestic markets, including several Asian cultures such as China, Japan and South Korea. Intrafamily codes continue to be used to infer relative harm for PMI’s new brand architecture that includes Marlboro brand variants being offered in black-coloured cigarette packages. A hierarchy of relative harm is communicated on the basis of